Rise of the Phoenix
by silverphoenix00
Summary: Twenty years ago, the ruthless Avatar Braen was killed by the four nations. Determined to put an end to the Avatar cycle, the world waited for the arrival of the new Avatar. One that never appeared…until now.
1. Chapter 1

_Water_

 _Fire_

 _Earth_

 _Air_

 _There was a time, when the four nations lived together in harmony,_

 _then, everything changed when the Avatar appeared._

 _Master of all four elements and corrupted by power,_

 _only the strength of all four nations could stop him._

 _And, after years of fighting, he was vanquished…_

 _Blinded by hatred, sights were turned to the new Avatar,_

 _a young Air Nomad, who bared the crimes of his predecessor._

 _Twenty years have passed and the identity of the Avatar_

 _remains shrouded in mystery._

 _Some say the Avatar died hiding amongst the Air Nomads,_

 _But I believe the Avatar still lives,_

 _waiting to rise from the ashes of the past._

* * *

If you were to ask anyone in the Southern Water Tribe about Katsuki Yuuri, you first hear of his kindness. You would hear how Yuuri was always the one to come running when called, always the one to heal wounds, and always the one to wear a smile even when the whole world was crashing down around him. The second praise you would hear about him would be for his determination. You would hear stories of how he would wake with the rising sun, perform his duties, and spend the rest of the day among the icebergs, twisting and turning his body in attempt to bend the tides around him.

Exactly like he was doing now.

Yuuri's only onlooker, and best friend, Phichit Chulanont watched, transfixed, as a single column of water shakily rose above the lip of their canoe. As the column rose, Yuuri could feel a strong tug in his gut and a subtle, yet powerful, surge of energy run through his veins. [GH1] Immediately, Yuuri stilled, palms upward as if carrying an invisible orb, in a desperate attempt to keep the tiny column afloat. Instead, the column fell with a defeated _plop_ , followed quickly by a frustrated huff.

Phichit perked up as Yuuri ran his hands through his onyx hair and turned his attention towards his friend, a small, defeated frown tugging on his lips as he sat down.

"Giving up so soon?" Phichit asked teasingly as Yuuri placed his gloves back on his hands and snuggled his face into fur of his collar.

Yuuri's eyes shot to his friend, a big, playful smile spreading on his face underneath his thick coat.

"Says the almighty fisherman," Yuuri shot back, gesturing towards the long, three-pronged spear perched in Phichit's lap and the painfully empty, hand-woven basket laying neglected at the bottom of the canoe. Yuuri was positive he saw cobwebs forming on the basket's lip.

"Fishing is boring," Phichit complained, throwing his head back and moaning like a small child assigned to do chores.

A sudden, solemn aura blanketed over the waterbender sitting across from him and Phichit could feel a chill wash over him, one that certainly had nothing to do with the icy temperature of their environment.

"And watching me fail at waterbending isn't?" Yuuri asked dejectedly, his eyes downcast in defeat.

Phichit desperately wanted to think that his friend meant it to be a joke, but he couldn't bring himself to believe it. With the proper training, most fifteen-year-old benders with Yuuri's skill would've been Masters, but because Yuuri was the only waterbender in the entire Southern Water Tribe he had to blindly teach himself. An effort that wasn't making much progress.

"You almost had it that time!" Phichit protested, giving him a reassuring smile to salvage the rapidly plummeting mood.

"Sure," Yuuri halfheartedly agreed, his eyes not meeting Phichit's as he cupped his gloved hands together and blew hot air into them to warm himself.

"You just need more practice!" Phichit insisted, setting his spear to his side to officially surrender his attempt at fishing for the day. "You're going to be a great waterbender one day, I know it!"

Yuuri gave his friend a breathless laugh, his brown eyes sparkling with a false amusement. "Thank you, Phichit, but I think this might be the end."

Phichit's stomach dropped at Yuuri's words, "The-the end?"

"Of me coming out here," Yuuri said calmly as the canoe began rocking gently back and forth, as if it were protesting the bender's words of surrender. "Of me trying to master waterbending."

Phichit could feel his body go numb and his shoulders stiffen as Yuuri's statement sent shivers through him. "You can't just give up!"

Yuuri caught his bottom lip between his teeth and shot his friend a sad look. It wasn't as if Yuuri _wanted_ to give up, in fact everything in him was stubbornly screaming to push through the disappointment and persevere. But he felt like he had tried everything short of packing up and traveling to the Northern Water Tribe. He had prayed to the Spirits and received no answer, he had written a lengthy, carefully worded letter to the Northern Water Tribe's bending Masters and received a rather snobbish letter in return[GH2] , he had even asked his parents for advice and received the reassurance that they would support him no matter what his decision. That, of course, didn't help him actually make a decision. He couldn't just leave his family half a world away for something so trivial as him learning waterbending.

"Phichit-"

"No!" Phichit said stubbornly, standing up in the canoe and placing his hands on his hips, "I will march to the Northern Water Tribe and drag someone here if it means finding you a teacher."

"Phichit-"

"Hell, I will drag YOU to the Northern Water Tribe if it means finding you a teacher. But you are, by no means Katsuki Yuuri, allowed to give up on what you want."

"Phichit, I can't leave everyone here just so I can learn waterbending," Yuuri finally cut in. "They need me more than I need waterbending."

Phichit crossed his arms and stuck out his bottom lip, sitting back down on the canoe bench as Yuuri's brown eyes locked onto him. "You can't just give up…"

A sad smile graced Yuuri's face at his friend's insistence, but it was a constant thought that had been incessantly haunting him for a long time. Today was the day that his failures had finally caught up with him and he couldn't see the point in continuing something that seemed so fruitless. His family needed him, his Tribe needed him, and all of the energy he put into his attempt at waterbending was energy he could be using to help his Tribe survive.

Yuuri opened his mouth to say so when the rumbling began.

Small, at first, and low, similar to the rumble of moving earth someone might hear when traveling through the Earth Kingdom. Except Yuuri and Phichit were stuck in the middle of a frozen ocean.

The water underneath the canoe rippled steadily, lapping against the edges of the canoe and rocking the boat back and forth. Phichit and Yuuri's hands flew to the sides of the canoe as the rocking became increasingly violent and more sporadic.

"Woah!" Phichit yelped as a large chunk of ice forcefully slammed into the canoe, throwing both boys to the side as the polished wood cracked and icy water began to pool around their feet.

"Shit," Yuuri cursed, grabbing the cob-webbed fishing bucket and placing it over the crack as another ice chunk rammed into the canoe.

"There!" Yuuri heard Phichit yell. Wide-eyed, Yuuri turned to see Phichit pointing to a large, solid-looking glacier nearby, the only evidence of the sudden rough waters being the polished iced from where the water had lapped up the frost. Yuuri nodded frantically, peeling the bucket away from the crack, dumping the excess water out of the boat, and replacing the bucket as Phichit grabbed a long paddle and began paddling urgently against the rapidly increasing ripples.

"Are you alright?" a winded Phichit asked as they stepped out of the canoe and onto the glacier.

"Yeah, yeah," an equally winded Yuuri replied. Together, the friends pulled the sinking canoe to safety while warily watching more sheets of ice surface from the water.

"What the hell do you think-"

Whatever Phichit was going to say was interrupted by the sound of crashing waves announcing the cresting of an enormous glacier. Yuuri and Phichit watched with wide eyes as a perfectly round glacier rose gracefully from the dark waters, water running down its polished surface to reveal an elegant swirling pattern as it began to bob.

Yuuri would've attributed its round shape and swirling pattern to a beauty of nature, until it began to glow a stunning ethereal blue. Yuuri could feel his eyes widen, but his eyes were glued to the blue light that came from the glacier, something calling to him and refusing to let go. Next to him, he could see Phichit's mouth hanging open in awe, obviously experiencing the same thing.

As the glacier began to settle in the water, the rough waves came to a deadly stand-still, leaving the surface of the inky waters with a mirror-like sheen. When silence overtook the two, nothing moved around them and time seemed to stand still.

For a breathtaking second, the brilliant picture was immortalized and then fractured in a single moment when the light began to gradually dim. As the light of the ethereal glacier slowly died, Yuuri could swear that he could see the dark outline of –

"Is that a person?!" Phichit screeched in disbelief, turning to Yuuri in hopes that his friend would prove him wrong.

He couldn't though.

Because underneath a huge, bulky figure was an eeriely, human-shaped figure. The body was positioned in a meditative stance and long hair was frozen in a halo around them. Yuuri couldn't stop himself from taking a cautious step forward and, as if the figure within could sense the movement, their eyes snapped open, glowing the same fierce blue as the rest of the glacier.

Yuuri could feel his breath leave his body as he turned towards Phichit, "They're alive!"

Phichit looked to stunned to speak, his eyes still wide and his mouth still gaping.

"We have to help!" Yuuri insisted determinedly, making his way back to Phichit and taking his trusted boomerang from the holster on his back. He seemed to snap out of his daze when Yuuri began making his way back to the glacier.

"Yuuri, wait! We don't know who's in there!" Phichit said as Yuuri slammed the blunt end of the instrument into the curved ice.

Without heeding his friend's warning, Yuuri slammed the boomerang into the glacier for the second time. As Yuuri brought the boomerang back for a third hit, the ice cracked with a terrifying _hiss_ and a torrent of cold air washed over the duo as the ice encasing the two shadowy figures cracked open. From the ice, a beam of the same blue light shot into the air and casted ripples in the sky. Yuuri and Phichit both had seen the Celestial Lights that lit up their home during clear winter nights, but this was incredibly different and all the more beautiful.

Yuuri felt Phichit leave his side and rush back to their grounded canoe, only to come back with his forgotten fishing spear. Yuuri, however, couldn't tear his eyes away from the outlined humanoid figure immerging from above the wall of ice left behind. With eyes still glowing, the boy, perhaps a little older than himself, stopped and stood along the peak of the wall, a breeze of air wrapping itself around him and playing lightly with the long, silvery strands of hair that cascaded down his back. The short, red cloak around his shoulders rippled gently from his movement, flashing glimpses of the yellow garments he wore underneath.

Awestruck, Phichit lowered his fishing spear just as the stranger's light died. Before anything could be said, however, the boy's eyes rolled up into his head and he began to fall from the top of the wall. Instinct overtook Yuuri and he dove, catching the stranger in his arms before he could hit the harsh ice below.

Slowly, as if anything faster could hurt the stranger in his arms, Yuuri placed a gloved hand behind his head, allowing the silver strands to slip in between his fingers, and lowered his head away from his body to get a better look at his face.

The stranger was absolutely stunning and, had Yuuri not been holding him in his arms, could've been mistaken for an ethereal spirit. For the second time, Yuuri could feel all the air leave his body as he looked down at the boy's impossibly perfect face. A moment of complete serenity washed over Yuuri as he cradled the stranger in his arms, protectively crouched over him.

The moment was broken when Phichit began poking the stranger with the butt of his spear.

"Phichit!" Yuuri scolded, shooting his friend a warning scowl.

"What?" Phichit asked innocently, retracting his spear before Yuuri could knock it away. "Dude looks dead."

In response, a low, pained moan escaped from the stranger's lips.

Yuuri shot his friend a knowing glare.

And if Yuuri wasn't breathless before, he certainly was after the stranger beneath him opened his eyes. Squinting at first, the stranger's eyes looked like they had been taken from the sky on a clear, bright summer day. And by the Spirits, if that didn't take Yuuri's breath away then nothing would.

"Are you…" the stranger began, his voice smooth, yet tired, "Are you from the Southern Water Tribe?"

Yuuri nodded his head numbly and heard Phichit behind him answer, "Yes."

The stranger flashed a brilliant smile and Yuuri could feel his heart stutter in his chest.

"I made it," he whispered to himself, sounding heartrendingly relieved.

"Are-are you alright?" Yuuri finally managed to say, helping the stranger prop himself up on his forearms, his silver hair swinging to the ice behind him. "We found you…in the ice."

The stranger scrunched his eyebrows as he heard Yuuri's explanation, obviously confused by the situation.

"Umm, yeah," he finally said, his sparkling eyes switching between Yuuri and Phichit before finally settling permanently on Yuuri with awe. "Yeah, my bi-" the stranger's eyes widened, suddenly remembering something important, and he frantically tried to push himself to his feet. A stunned Yuuri allowed him to rise, too taken aback by the change in demeanor to protest. "Makkachin?!" the stranger began to call, walking around the perimeter of ice wall he had fallen off of. "Makka?!"

Yuuri watched the stranger disappear before throwing a questioning glance towards Phichit, who simply shrugged and began to follow the quickly disappearing stranger. Yuuri rose to stand, brushed the frost off of his knees, and followed Phichit and the stranger around the ice wall. As the trio walked the perimeter of the glacier, they came across a dip in the wall. Then, Yuuri and Phichit saw exactly what the large outline in the glacier had been.

In the middle of the glacier remains, laid a gigantic, chocolate colored mammal, the likes of which Yuuri could easily say he had never seen in his life. The creature was sleeping, its six legs curled up underneath it and its flat tail rolled out behind. Occasionally, the beast let out large, warm huffs of air, but otherwise seemed to be undisturbed.

Next to Yuuri, Phichit's jaw hit the ice.

"Makkachin!" the stranger happily cried, launching himself five feet into the air and landing softly on the beast's forehead as a cool breeze licked at Yuuri and Phichit's skin. Yuuri felt his own jaw drop. He was pretty sure no normal human being could jump that high and land as gracefully than the stranger just did. The stranger began to rub the creature's forehead fondly as the creature opened its eyes. "You're okay!"

"You're an airbender," Yuuri whispered reverently, almost not believing his own words.

The stranger turned to him and gave Yuuri and Phichit a dazzling smile as he slipped off the creature's forehead, gave a flourishing turn to slow his decent, and landed gracefully in front of them, "I am!"

"What the heck is that thing?" Phichit blurted out, unable to help himself.

The stranger patted the creature's nose fondly, "This is Makkachin, my flying air bison, though she's more prone to act like a poodle-monkey on her bad days."

"Oooookay," Phichit agreed skeptically, narrowing his eyes at the air bison. Yuuri couldn't blame him. If anyone told him that that giant animal could fly, he'd be skeptical too.

Despite that, Yuuri elbowed him, "Don't be rude, Phichit!"

"I'm not being rude!" Phichit complained. "I'm being suspicious, there's a difference."

"I'm Yuuri," the waterbender said, ignoring his friend and turning to the stranger, "and the suspicious one is my friend, Phichit."

"Sure," he heard Phichit mutter under his breath, "make friends with the magical flying man and his giant poodle-monkey."

The stranger smiled kindly, "It's a pleasure to meet you both. My name's Viktor."

* * *

Hello everyone and welcome to my first Yuri! on Ice fic! I'm super excited about starting this story, because it has been in the works for a very long time. I'm a huge fan of both Avatar: The Last Airbender and Yuri! on Ice, so mashing the two together is going to be one heck on an adventure. I'm actually planning on this to be a longer fic, one of the longest I've done so far, so buckle up because the ride is just beginning!  
If you want updates on the fics I'm working on, or just want to hang out with me and my fangirlness on Tumblr, you can find me as silverphoenixwrites.  
This chapter was beta read/edited by one of my good friends, hamiltontrash456.  
I hope you all have a Happy Holiday season and I will see you next time!


	2. Chapter 2

Viktor.

His name was Viktor.

This indescribably beautiful, spirit-like boy was named Viktor.

Viktor, who was also currently petting the nose of a giant air bison and, cooing to it softly like it was a small house pet

Yuuri ran over the name in his head an impossible amount of times in a matter of seconds.

"Nice to meet you too," came Phichit's quick voice, waving off the introduction in a childlike fashion. "Why were you trapped in the ice?"

"Phichit!" Yuuri scolded his friend seriously. Because Phichit was a child. A grown, impatient, human adult-child. He glanced worriedly between his friend and Viktor, ready to apologize on Phichit's behalf in case the other had taken offense. Instead, Viktor cocked his head to the side, his silver hair swaying behind him, with eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Ice?" Viktor blinked. Makkachin bumped her owner from behind when he stopped petting her nose. Absentmindedly, Viktor began to stroke between her eyes, still concentrating on the two tribesmen in front of him. "What ice?"

"We found you," Yuuri spoke before Phichit could explain further and no doubt find a way to accidently insult and/or offend the stranger. Yuuri could feel his face heat up when Viktor's blue eyes focused on him, "incased in the ice."

Viktor eyes clouded in confusion and he looked around, studying the walls of the ice crater. After a few silent moments, Viktor turned back to them incredulously, "...I did this?"

"Uh, yeah dude," Phichit cut in eagerly, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet while still holding his spear. Yuuri eyed the spear warily as Phichit's excitement grew. "You did. Who are you? Why were you stuck in the ice? What was that giant beam of light? Are you really an airbender?"

Yuuri could see Phichit's questions slowly begin to overwhelm Viktor when those stunning blue eyes glanced towards him in a silent plea for help.

"Ummm," was all Yuuri managed to answer before Phichit continued his interrogation.

"What happened?"

Behind the airbender, Makkachin rose slowly and gingerly walked over to Yuuri, curiously sniffing at him with her big, brown nose and nudging at his hand in a plea for attention from her new friend. Viktor had been right, the size of an air bison, the attitude of a poodle-monkey.

"I – I don't know," Viktor answered hesitantly, closing his eyes as if he were trying to will himself to remember. "Makka and I were flying and…ummm…there was a storm…" His eyebrows furrowed together and he gave a concentrated hum. Then, his blue eyes opened once again, "…but that's all I remember."

A look of absolute distress crossed the boy's face. An expression Yuuri immediately thought shouldn't be on Viktor's face.

"That's alright," Yuuri quickly consoled, trying cheer up the boy before tears could fill his beautiful blue eyes. "That's alright." Yuuri glanced towards Phichit, silently begging him for help. "Umm, why don't you come back with us? Our village isn't far from here and I'm sure everyone would be excited to meet you."

Viktor's face immediately lit up in excitement, "We could go penguin sledding!"

Yuuri couldn't help but smile at the boy's blatant enthusiasm. "Yes, we can go penguin sledding."

"And Makkachin can fly us!" He continued enthusiastically, running towards the air bison next to Yuuri. "Hop on!"

"Oh Spirits," Phichit muttered underneath his breath as he looked up at the giant mammal, "does he really think this thing can fly?"

The air around them swirled, licking at their exposed skin and playing with the furs on their collars as Viktor was lifted into the air and set gently down upon the top of Makkachin's head. A broad smile had spread on his face and Viktor had begun buzzing with excitement while running his fingers through Makkachin's brown curls.

Hesitantly, Yuuri approached the side of the air bison, looking upwards at the giant and wondering how on earth he was going to manage to climb to the top. Then, Viktor appeared to offer him an outstretched hand. For the second time since meeting the boy, Yuuri thought he was looking at an ethereal spirit. On top of Makkachin, Viktor's head was haloed in sunlight, bright beams reflecting off of his long hair with a twinkle of mischief in his crystal eyes. Yuuri felt his mouth fall open, too breathless to speak or accept the offered hand in any normal way.

Spirits, Viktor probably thought he was weird. Was he weird? Staring at beautiful people wasn't weird, was it? Crap, he was staring.

A blush painted itself on Yuuri's face as he looked away from Viktor.

"Thank you," Yuuri mumbled, slipping his hand into Viktor's and allowing himself to be pulled up onto Makkachin's back. Viktor released Yuuri's hand, but his gaze fixed on the waterbender as Yuuri sat down.

"Yeah, thanks," Phichit echoed sarcastically when Viktor made no move to help him. Phichit gripped at Makkachin's curly fur, trying to pull himself up after Yuuri, "I hope you two are happy together with all of your googly eyes and warm, fuzzy smiles."

At Phichit's words, Yuuri sputtered. Viktor, however, sent him a dazzling smile and took the rope connecting Makkachin's two horns.

"Are you two ready to fly?"

"Oh, yeah." Phichit rested his head on his hand and gave Viktor a smile. Yuuri could tell that his friend was skeptical about the fact that the air bison could fly. They were about to find out.

"Okay, let's go!" Viktor said enthusiastically. He turned his back towards them and snapped the reins lightly. "Makka, Yip Yip!"

At the words, the beast rose slowly and stepped her way towards the edge of the ice crater. A deep rumble followed the movement as Makkachin crouched down and tensed. Yuuri tangled his fingers into her fur, fighting to keep his balance as she swayed beneath them. Muscles beneath them contracted and Makkachin jumped upwards, taking to the air in a single, glorious moment of suspension.

Air rushed around them in giant waves. Gravity didn't seem to exist.

Until it did and Makkachin landed in the water on her belly with a cringe worthy _plop_.

"Oh, come on girl," Viktor cooed gently, bending over and rubbing the space between Makkachin's eyes soothingly. "You can do it."

The air bison rumbled in answer.

Phichit snorted. "Impressive…"

Chilled ice water licked at Makkachin's fur as she swam her way through the water.

"She's just tired," Viktor insisted, straightening up and turning to them. "Once she's rested, she'll be able to fly, no problem."

Silence followed Viktor's promise, broken only by the slosh of ice and water being mixed together beneath them and the occasional huff from Makkachin as her muscles worked to plow through the waters. Yuuri felt uncomfortable. Like, really uncomfortable. But he couldn't just start talking about something. What was there to talk about?

"So…" Yuuri began lamely, eyeing Phichit and hoping that he would finish the sentence.

"You're an airbender?"

Thank the Spirits for Phichit.

"Yup! I just became a Master, but I haven't gotten my arrows yet," Viktor answered, leaning back on Makkachin's head to look at them. "I was supposed to get them before I left the Temple, but…" Viktor's story tapered off and his eyes became distant. But, as soon as it had come, it had gone. Viktor shook his head and cleared his throat, sending the two tribesmen a hollow smile. "I had to leave early."

"So, you could like, teach Yuuri to do waterbending?"

Yuuri froze in place, staring at Phichit with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.

"Umm…I'm sorry, but I don't think that's how it works," Viktor apologized, looking concerned. As a silent moment passed, Viktor's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Are there not any waterbending Masters in the Southern Tribe?"

Yuuri felt as if a bucket of chilled water had been dumped over him.

A wave of absolute dread washed through him and the air thickened around them, suffocating them.

How – how could Viktor not know that?

How could he not know what happened?

"How…what…" Phichit choked beside him, an incredulous look on his face. Yuuri imagined his own face mirrored his.

Viktor couldn't be serious.

But Viktor looked completely serious.

The airbender was sitting up now, attention fixated on them and their reactions. He blinked innocently, "Is – is there something wrong? What'd I do?"

"How long were you in that ice?" was all Yuuri could think to ask.

"I don't know…a couple days maybe?"

"The Blood Trials were twenty years ago," Phichit whispered underneath his breath, loud enough for Yuuri to hear but quiet enough to escape Viktor. Phichit looked at him sadly and addressed Viktor, "There's no way it was just a couple of days."

Panic began rising in Viktor's eyes, which were darting back and forth between Phichit and Yuuri. "Then how long was I in there?"

"I think it was more like twenty years…"

"What?!" Viktor yelped, his eyes widening in a full blown panic. "No, no, no, no, no, that's not possible. It can't have been twenty years."

"It has to be," Phichit argued gently, "at least. For you to not know what happened…"

"What are you talking about?"

Underneath them, Makkachin was rising out of the water in favor of stepping on solid, unbroken ice. In the distance, Yuuri could see plumes of smoke rising in thin, grey columns and a black spot, the makings of a ship stuck in the ice from long ago. A bad memory from a bad time.

Instead of answering him, Phichit pointed towards the ship, as if it explained everything.

Viktor squinted his eyes, desperate to bring the ship into focus. He didn't know what he was going to see, but as it slowly grew on the horizon it was obvious what it wasn't.

"That ship," Viktor said, eyes glued to the ship, "is not from the Southern Water Tribe."

Yuuri gave a deep sigh, trying to calm himself enough to explain what the ship was. And what it meant.

"You're right," Yuuri confirmed, "it's from the Northern Water Tribe. It was abandon here after one of the raids."

Viktor looked between Yuuri and Phichit, his blue eyes staring at Yuuri in a mixture of horror and shock. Breathlessly, almost fearfully, Viktor spoke again, "Raids?"

"A lot has changed in twenty years," Yuuri sighed, not wanting to explain, not wanting to even acknowledge the ship, but knowing he had to. If he didn't, Viktor would ask questions, questions that wouldn't go over well when they reached their village. "There used to be a lot of benders in the Southern Water Tribe, you know. They allied themselves with the new Avatar after Braen's death because they believed the new Avatar shouldn't be held accountable with Braen's actions. The Northern Water Tribe didn't exactly approve. So, they came and took all of the benders and tried them up north as traitors.

"By the Spirits," Viktor said disbelievingly underneath his breath.

Yuuri couldn't help but agree. The Blood Trials had been before he was born, but his parents had known people who had been taken. He couldn't help but think that, had he been born a few years earlier, he would've been taken as well.

"Yeah…" Yuuri lamely added.

"Why?" Viktor asked, his voice quiet, as if afraid of the answer. "Why would they do that to you?"

Yuuri licked his lips, wishing for the ship to simply disappear so that the conversation would drop. He knew it wouldn't because that ship had loomed over him every day of his life, haunted his Tribe with horrid memories of the past. "People weren't exactly too keen on another Avatar after Braen. The nations looked for the next reincarnation because they were convinced they would be exactly like him, but the benders here believed in the philosophy that each Avatar reincarnation is different and unique. That they shouldn't be held responsible for the crimes Avatar Braen committed. So, when they didn't find the Avatar amongst the Air Nomads, they looked here. They obviously didn't find him."

Viktor's eyes fluttered downwards as he fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. "I'm sorry."

The weight of the airbender's apology took Yuuri by surprise. It was heavy and sincere, filled with an emotion that Yuuri didn't quite understand the reason for. "It's okay, it wasn't your fault."

Viktor gave a humorless laugh, "Yeah… I guess."

An incredible weight came over Viktor, something that Yuuri couldn't even begin to comprehend. His eyes were still glued to the ship and he seemed to feel the history and the sorrow surrounding it.

By the Spirits, how much further did they have to go?

The columns of smoke were getting closer, growing thicker and taller as each soft pad of Makkachin's feet took them further forward. But, as the columns grew, so did the ship. It was absolutely massive. A reminder of the strength the Northern Water Tribe possessed. Yuuri wanted to believe that what they had done to his Tribe was out of fear. He didn't want to be afraid of their Northern brethren. He wanted to be able to willingly pack up, leave for the Northern Water Tribe, and have confidence that he was coming back.

He couldn't though.

There was too much fear, too many what-ifs, too much risk involved in leaving.

What if he didn't come back?

What would happen to his family? To his Tribe?

The words he told Phichit earlier rang in his head.

His Tribe needed him. He couldn't risk leaving for the Northern Water Tribe to learn waterbending for himself when there was a good chance that he wouldn't come back.

The ship was a constant, incessant reminder of that fact.

Teasing him, tempting him into doing something selfish and incredibly foolish.

"Yuuri!"

The waterbender felt his attention snap back into reality, not having realized it had ever drifted, when he heard his name called in the distance.

"Phichit!"

At the bottom of the columns of smoke, Yuuri could now see the scattered, but tightly oriented, huts of his village, bundled together out of necessity to persevere in the polar climate. Makkachin stopped as several people came up to them and all three boys sild off of her smoothly.

Immediately, Yuuri and Phichit both were drawn in for a warm hug by Yuuri's parents.

"Oh, thank the Spirits, we were so worried about you," a nearly sobbing Hiroko said, cupping Yuuri's face in her hands and smiling in relief.

"I'm fine," Yuuri breathed, wrapping his arms around his mother again to console her, "we're both fine."

"What is that?" came a small voice. Yuuri turned to see one of the village children, staring up in awe at Makkachin.

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry," Yuuri said quickly, gesturing towards Viktor and Makkachin, "Mom, Dad, this is Viktor. Viktor, these are my parents, Hiroko and Toshiya."

"It is a pleasure," Viktor said with a stunning smile, giving a slight bow to both of Yuuri's parents. Hiroko gave Viktor a warm smile.

"The pleasure is ours," she said with a bow of her own. "Now come, dear, you must be freezing."

Yuuri's mother began to herd the three boys back to the village, Makkachin following diligently behind the group. Behind him, Yuuri saw Phichit take the child's hand and lean down.

"Did you know," he heard Phichit whisper in a sarcastic, falsely-awed voice, "that she can fly?"

Yuuri just shook his head at his friends antics.

The sleek black hull of the cruiser cut elegantly through the broken, icy water of the South Pole. Black steam rose above the warship, spreading its inky smoke along the blue sky above them. It was quiet and calm, with only the occasional _thunk_ sound to break the otherwise peaceful –

"Why is it so fucking cold out here?" a shivering fifteen-year-old shouted as his blonde head peaked up from below the deck.

"We are nearing the South Pole, Your Majesty."

Green eyes glared holes into the soldier that dared answered his obviously rhetorical question, "I know that you fucking ass-"

"Yurochka," came a warning tone from the interior of the ship. The young Fire Nation Prince cringed at the sound of his advisor's scolding voice, "that is no way to speak to the crew."

"But Yakov – "

Prince Yuri was met with an unwavering glare.

"Fine. Whatever," he huffed shortly, turning away from the chilly upper deck in favor of the warm, steam-powered heat of the lower deck, "but we better find the fucking Avatar in this fucking wasteland or I'm gonna be pissed."

Yakov simply shook his head as the Prince retreated.

* * *

Hello friends! I hope you all enjoyed chapter two and I'm sorry that it took so long to actually get here... I kinda got swept up in school and Victuuri Week... But it's here now and I hope you all like it!

This chapter was beta read by my good friend hamiltontrash456!

If you want to come hang out with me on Tumblr, you can find me silverphoenixwrites!

I hope to see you all soon!


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